GOIN' FOR IT ALL: Corey Fisher warms up yesterday for No. 9 Villanova's matchup with No. 8 George Mason in Cleveland today. AP

CLEVELAND — This was supposed to be the season Corey Fisher became a national Player of the Year candidate. And the season he led Villanova to a Big East championship at the Garden.

Instead, it was another guard, UConn’s Kemba Walker, who accomplished both — and Fisher, who played with and against Walker while the two grew up in The Bronx, saw it all.

“We talk every other day,” Fisher said on the eve of his ninth-seeded Villanova team taking on No. 8 George Mason tonight in the second-round of the NCAA tournament at the Quicken Loan Center. “I’m real happy for him. Seeing him get five wins in five nights, I was happy.”

Still, when Fisher went to Villanova after a stellar career at St. Patrick’s in Elizabeth, N.J., he expected the kind of results Walker has had. And after three seasons of being in the shadows of Scottie Reynolds, the 6-foot Fisher seemed poised to finally reach expectations.

But after a 16-1 start, the Wildcats faltered and enter the tournament having lost five straight, including a stunning defeat to South Florida in the Big East tournament.

“All his life, in AAU, high school and college, he’s won,” said his AAU coach, Dana Dingle. “Now, this is it. He wants to go out on a high note and has had a tough run the last month. You never want to go out with a dud.”

That didn’t seem possible when he got to Villanova, after having more than held his own against the likes of OJ Mayo and Derrick Rose growing up.

“He had unparalleled breakdown ability,” recruiting expert Tom Konchalski said. “Kids were literally afraid to guard him. He was so quick with the ball he would embarrass people. . . . He’s been somewhat domesticated in Villanova’s system and he deferred to Scottie Reynolds. This was his year to shine.”

And although he played well as a senior, averaging 15.4 points per game, Fisher has struggled at times — including in consecutive home losses to Syracuse and St. John’s, when he shot 4-for-26.

“If I get down on myself, I’ll go downhill,” Fisher said. “I’m confident in the team and myself as an individual. We’ll show that [today].”

Head coach Jay Wright remains high on Fisher.

“I think if Corey Fisher was at Villanova at the same time that Mike Nardi was at Villanova, with Randy Foye or after Randy Foye and there wasn’t that line of Foye, Nardi, [Kyle] Lowry and Reynolds, he’s kind of at the end where everybody expects him to be better than all of them,” Wright said. “I think he’s as good as any of them, but he’s at the end of the line and everybody expects him to be John Wall.

“Do I think he could have had a better senior year numbers-wise? Yes,” Wright said. “But he’s still our leading scorer, leading assist guy. He’s a great leader for our team, and he’s battled through tendinitis. And I’m just proud as hell of him.”

It hasn’t been easy.

“He’s had ups and downs this year and I’m sure he’s frustrated,” St. Patrick’s head coach Kevin Boyle said. “He wants to make a splash before he leaves.”

He’d like that to start soon.

“There is still basketball to be played,” Konchalski said. “The final chapter is yet to be written.”